UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING MECHANIZED HOUSEHOLD WASTE COLLECTION IN THE CITY OF UBERLÂNDIA-MG.

Abstract

Objective: To understand and describe the process of implementing mechanized household waste collection in the city of Uberlândia (MG) through notifications from the City Hall and the Municipal Water and Sewage Department (DMAE), from 2013 to 2024, in the context of technological innovation in waste management, and to identify the type of mechanized collection implemented. Method: Basic in nature, with an exploratory-descriptive objective and a qualitative approach, based on documentary and bibliographic analysis. Results: Mechanized collection in Uberlândia is currently made up of surface containers with a capacity of 1,000 liters, “deployed only in a few districts of the city and in a random manner.  Mechanization: does not take place as it should, and collection takes place in a mixed fashion, with door-to-door household waste collection prevailing,” according to Limpebras Engenharia Ambiental Ltda.'s Contracts Manager, Engineer Carlos Moreira da Silva, who is responsible for waste collection in Uberlândia. Considerations: the collection of household waste in Uberlândia provides the city with a service that fails in terms of planning, execution and logistics when it comes to setting up containers, not meeting the population's demand for waste generation in the interval between collections, and it is common to see containers overflowing with waste, an environment conducive to the reproduction of bacteria, insects, worms and rats, causing negative impacts on health and the environment.